The power struggle within the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which has remained covert until now, is coming to the surface with the death of ringleader Fetullah Gülen on Sunday.
The scale of Gülen’s right-hand man Cevdet Türkyolu’s amassed fortune exposes the roots of the race to claim FETÖ’s top seat, according to Turkish security sources.
Gülen, who had lived in a luxurious compound in Pennsylvania, U.S., since 1999, died aged 83, the terrorist group said Monday.
Gülen organized a defeated 2016 coup in Türkiye, which killed 252 people and injured over 2,000. He also ran a global network of schools, businesses and charities that disguised themselves as religious groups, exploiting thousands to place infiltrators in state institutions.
For decades, FETÖ amassed a fortune through direct donations of its members and through charities where money donated by unsuspecting donors was funneled to senior cadres of the group.
At its height in Türkiye, the group controlled a network of companies, a bank and hundreds of prep schools and private colleges. Authorities say there are still some FETÖ members on active duty in the judiciary, military and police force.
Türkyolu, one of the co-leaders of FETÖ, is accused by some insiders, including Gülen’s nephew Ebuseleme Gülen, of stealing funds the group’s members sent for activities and “making himself rich.”
Gülen’s nephew recently claimed Türkyolu was expelled a few times from Pennsylvania and returned every time, convincing the group’s leadership of his innocence.
He said Mustafa Özcan, another top FETÖ figure, was also involved in plots of Türkyolu. Earlier, he claimed that they tried to “smuggle” Gülen out of the compound to sever ties with Gülen’s followers, who criticized their conspiracy.
Turkish security sources said all so-called senior members want to control the flow of cash in FETÖ, which they need to sustain their wealth in the countries to which they fled.
With Gülen’s death, Türkyolu’s increasing wealth is bound to be in sharper focus among FETÖ members, sources said.
According to F-Watch, a website of former FETÖ members seeking to inform the public about the group’s wrongdoings, Türkyolu was responsible for Gülen’s personal care and is “known for his intentions to seize the organization’s financial resources” after Gülen’s death.
Türkyolu purchased the house Gülen last resided in before his death for nearly $840,000.
According to Turkish security sources, Türkyolu oversaw the sale of 17 title deeds between 2003-2013.
From 2012 to 2014, he caused financial losses for Kaynak Holding, founded by FETÖ members, by selling his shares in the holding’s stationary subsidiary “nt” way over their worth, for over $4 million. He also took millions of unregistered dollars by hand from Kaynak Holding.
Türkyolu did not shy away from inflicting financial damage to the so-called “Hizmet” (service) movement, a cover FETÖ used before being outed as a terrorist group.
Türkyolu also had a hand in the losses suffered by Bank Asya, a now-defunct lender at the heart of FETÖ’s financial arm, sources said.
When the news came out that the bank would be sold to Qataris, Türkyolu utilized the drop in the bank’s stock to 75 kurus at the time and purchased a million lots, dealing significant damage to the bank while doubling his fortune.
Additionally, Türkyolu, the co-founder of U.S.-based Amish Farmers Market LLC, used loans from Bank Asya worth about $1 million in total.
From 2013 onward, when FETÖ came under scrutiny for its two coup attempts disguised as graft probes, Türkyolu focused on stock exchange investments, sources said.
Türkyolu, who cites his family’s lands in Türkiye’s northern Sakarya province as the source of his wealth, has dozens of real estate properties in the U.S., much more valuable than his Sakarya lands, sources added.
